Wheaton College Men’s Soccer – Coach Steve McCrath

In today’s episode, I speak with Coach McCrath from the Wheaton Men’s Program in Illinois. We talk about their 3 prong recruiting approach. Coach also shares about the people on campus and how you’re made to feel. Plus, we discuss his transformational, not transactional style of coaching. Learn more about Wheaton College Men’s Soccer.

Matt: [00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to Discover College Soccer Today. I am lucky enough to be joined by Coach McGrath over at Wheaton. Welcome Coach. 

Coach: Thanks, Matt. Thanks for having me. 

Matt: Yeah, thanks for being here. I, I, I think I, I’ve been up in that area of Illinois before, but I don’t think I’ve actually stepped foot on campus, but, uh, but 

Coach: you’re more than welcome.

We’re gonna take you, if you come on in the train’s running behind a little bit like the Metro Stars Old Days, which is Red Bull now, but 

Matt: Yep. Yep. 

Coach: Good sense. 

Matt: Awesome. Well, we’re talking here beginning of March. Um. For, for a, you know, it’s a high level D three, like you guys on the men’s side. How far along are you with the class of 26, you done and dusted?

Are you still wrapping up the last couple guys and, and kind of, where are you with 20 sevens at this point? Normally in the year. 

Coach: Great question. So, uh, this is, I’ve just finished literally ca calendar wise. I’ve just finished four calendar years here at Wheaton. ’cause I, I came here in March of 22 [00:01:00] and I have found a shift that the program’s improved and we’ve gotten stronger.

We’ve won the conference, we’re league leaders and the conference wins, uh, with 22 championships over, over the history of the conference. But we’ve been, uh, had, had the program had only been third or fourth from. 2016 to 2021 and since 22, uh, we’ve been second, second, first, first. So in that the players have changed, obviously recruiting and things like that, things change have to, has to happen.

And so in that the market has changed. Of course with the market of even the Nils, the D ones, the money floating here and there, the dreams. So with all of that, we’re still open in the 26th. We’re still looking for, uh, the type of players are gonna help us continue to rise and get to the national playoffs again.

And because of that, uh, delay with the ideas of who’s going to think they’re gonna end up someplace or somewhere else, they’re [00:02:00] delaying. Um, so we’re more open on the 20 sevenths. We haven’t offered yet any 2020 sevens yet, but we do have a rolling application that used to be a hard stop at February one, so there’s some good in that and there’s some makes it maybe sometimes not so good.

So, but we are gonna be ahead of, of the course now on the 27th. So I would say although we have no offers out and, and no commits, we’re also moving that those things will. Go at a higher, quicker tempo come summer. 

Matt: Okay. Well, I mean, you guys are. You’ve done a great job in the four years you’ve been there getting, getting that profile up, getting the number of wind up, and, and you can tell by the roster you’re not a traditional, what I would call regionally, o regional only roster, uh, that, that a lot of d threes are, you know, you’re almost, you.

Kind of in that same vein as the, the SCAs and the, the uas and all that kind of stuff. So where are [00:03:00] you going for your recruiting? You know, ’cause you don’t have just an Illinois roster. So what, what, what events do you go to? What are you prioritizing there? 

Coach: Good questions there. So, Wheaton, the, the cool part about Wheaton, it’s, I mean, being a.

Being a type of an Ivy League school in the Midwest. So academically it fits the category of all that. We’re the number one Christian school in the nation. So we don’t just play it, we do it. And I think with that, we’re an international, we, we may not have a lot of internationals. We have technically, we have none on our team presently, but we have a player that was born in America.

He really was, he’s Australian, he was raised in England, so technically in one way or another, he is an international. But, but in, in all aspects, we, we, we are looking between, we probably have between 17 to 20 states represented. So we’re, we’re truly a national school and people want to be here, so we’re looking for people that want to be here that also have what we want too.

That has the [00:04:00] blend of. Your heart for Christ, and some even that are searching for it, but they, they, no, it’s not, uh, like I have no interest. I mean, those, that’s not a great fit here. But the ones that even are researching, I’m not sure, but I, I know. What I’m thinking, but I’m not totally sure what I’m thinking about God.

Uh, but on the other hand, good academics, but people that are good players. So in terms of your question about where we go, the ECNL has been a very good feeder for us. That has gotten a lot of traction and it’s been very strong in that quality. That capable level player, that’s probably a stronger player on, on their specific team as well are coming here now.

And then we have MLS next, and then we have the transfers as well. We, we. Probably have two to four transfers that come in a year. Our ours are not necessarily what you’re reading in the paper or reading in the, you know, online now with the, just pulling people from everywhere. And we’ve got, we’re just waiting for portal guys, which the, with the mid majors and the, than the, [00:05:00] you know, the higher level T ones are pulling.

Now it’s a little bit more that, you know, this is not the experience I thought it was going to be. And those kids are coming in. So we’ve actually had some kids that have come in off the portal debt. Chose not to go to wheat and then realize I need to be there. And they have thrived. I mean, every one of them is thriving, which is really cool.

So I think we are a little bit more portal specific, that the portal is nice for us, that it allows us to get the communication going versus maybe what the portal looks like to the, the rest of the world. But that’s probably our three pronged areas is would be those, those three for the the most. I mean, then we have our outliers.

Matt: Okay. Uh, what about ID camps? They’re, they’re, they’re all the rage these days. Are you guys, uh, doing them? Are you, your staff working external? Are they part of the process for you? 

Coach: Part of the process? We have, we’ll go and we do, so we have one in June, June 13th is when our camp is. We, we’ve been pretty good.

We’ve had, [00:06:00] um, two, we’ve had, uh, the attacking player of the year. We’ve had two defenders of the year and goalkeepers of the year. In my last three years and out of all of them, but one were, uh, ID camp or I guess a couple of them were ID campers, but we’ve also had a number of, um, players that have gotten all conference first or second team.

So we probably are 50, 50% of our guys that are winning all conference. And CCIW is, is a strong conference. Is, um, they have come through our ID camp, so we’re pretty specific too. We don’t have a ID camp that’s a hundred fold, 150 fold, and you name it. We, we not only get them, but they’re, they’re making impact in, in the camp, you know, the camp.

Then they make impact when they come. Right now we’ve got two players coming to us that were, that went through our ID camp that are on the next, this next class, so from last summer or a summer prior. We’ve [00:07:00] got guys that have come for ID camps. 

Matt: Okay, 

Coach: so we use ’em wisely. We we’re, we make ’em effective. 

Matt: Good.

Well, whether it’s an event transfer ID camp where wherever you’re at, kind of what makes up that hierarchy of things you’re looking for in a player, both on and off the field? 

Coach: Well, I mean, I, I, we probably all would be the same talking head where in any coach would probably say there’s character, there’s the integrity.

Just someone who, but, but. People that thrive that play for me are, are those that, that are journey excited? They, they not looking at what they think is supposed to happen. They’re excited about the journey. And those are the ones that do really well. Because when you look at the pros, for example, you know, Claudio Rain is a really good example.

In his playing days when he was to our country, was one of the most gifted central midfielders we’ve ever had. For him to make it. He’s playing, you know, with Man City before they were really [00:08:00] high level, uh, you know, they, he was, um, in the Premier league in who they are now, say from 2012. But he was playing and moving, you know, into the fullback attacking fullback.

Right? Right side rangers, same thing. And, and he made the quality of who he was at that position. So those guys are. Are the guys that do really well here. So we’re looking for people. Obviously what you can do with the ball is critical. We’re looking for people that when you’re out there, you technically are picking yourself to be in the lineup because we’re looking for that type of a talent speed of play.

What is your ability to read tempo? Essential player that understands how to know when to shift into a higher gear, when to dial it back, and uh, and there’s also quality on the ball. So again. That would be the, I mean, if you can do it, you can do it. Then we all would take that player. But that’s, uh, that’s what’s gonna make our team stronger.

The guys that have done really [00:09:00] well, that have have Elevated their play are guys that are Journey guys, where they really and are interested in the journey. They’re e more easily grown, and their games change, and the development they make is so much better. So I think that is the type of player that does really well regardless of my old institution or here.

Uh, even at my old institution, we had a national player of the year that was really good about asking questions. Like, what do you think? The old question, like, what do you think I need to work on? And then you realize that when, in this, in this one story, I just was kind of caught off guard ’cause I would’ve prepared for him to ask that question.

And, uh, I basically thought about it for, you know, 20, 30 seconds and I said, I think you need to dribble more. ’cause he was such a, a past first person, but he held up ball so well. But I just said, I think you need to draw people in a little bit more and, or burst through lines that maybe people aren’t expecting you to do that because you can.

And he’s got a laptop in his hand while asking a question. He says, you know, I’ve been watching a [00:10:00] lot of film. I agree with you, but here’s your best, one of your best players asking this question. It’s not that he agreed with me, but this fact that his heart and his mind were aligned, that no matter what I might have said, he was more likely gonna say, I’m gonna work on that if that’s gonna make me better.

And, uh, we ended up winning the national championship that year as well. So there was obviously a lot of our factors, but there were guys on that team that did the same thing. And I think that’s what’s helping us do so well here at Wheaton. It’s making us climb up the ladder as we’ve got players that are willing to see how can you, how can you help me and how can I help myself, make myself better?

So that’s. That’s a huge quality and a quantity of, of type of player we want to have here. 

Matt: Awesome. Well, speaking of Wheaton, let’s talk a little bit more about the school. Like you said, you’ve been there a few years now. What have you found to be just some of the, the outstanding things, the awesome things, maybe some things we wouldn’t even know about going through the website?

Coach: Uh, well I hear this all the time, even when, when we get turned down by a recruit that they love the coaching staff. They love how we operate, who we [00:11:00] are. They see who we are with our team as well as who we are with them, that there’s not really, uh, a talking outta two sides of the mouth. The used car salesman approach, they feel, they feel seen, but they feel holistically seen.

It’s not just in the moment, but this is the striking one. They always find that they, they share that they. Enjoy the time the people are here. And then the best part is, is that when some of those recruits end up coming here, they’ll end up saying, I thought it was just the recruiting visit. Like everybody’s on show and the Pollyanna and the, but then they get here and they say, this is exactly the people that I saw when I visited.

So you are who you are. Today is who you are tomorrow. So I think some of the stuff you’re not gonna see on your, on the website is the, the fact that, how. How you’re made to feel. And I think that that is a, a huge component as to why our team functions so well, why we work so [00:12:00] hard. And so if for some reason we’re not the best on the talent level between the two sides, we’re successful because we’re not taking ourselves outta the play.

They, uh, the campus is beautiful. A lot of campuses, people say, oh, it’s a beautiful campus, but Wheaton is also not a, uh, college town call, uh, program where when the summer hits, the college is left and the town dies, so to speak. It’s really, the town thrives off of the college. The college thrives off of the town of Wheaton, but at the same time, both are independent.

Even though we’re locked right in, like if you looked out my window, you’d see neighborhood houses and things like right in here. But at the same time, it’s as if it’s just intermixed in just enough way that life, life is still thriving one way or the other. And, and no one would know a difference. We’re only 30, you know, 35, 40 minutes from Chicago.

Guys can take the train right off of our stadium. So you have the train that literally goes, the train station’s right next to one of ’em. We have two stations that are all [00:13:00] within walking distance of the, the school. They zip you right out to, to, uh, Chicago guys go out there all the time, see events. All these, all the pro sporting teams, internships, guys, get great business internships.

Those are some things that our alumni, where this is advertised you, you would read it on the site, but we’re 18th out of all of the colleges and universities in the nation for alumni connection and support. So if you come here. I mean, unless you try not to, you’re going to, you’re going to do well coming out of Wheaton because the connection’s, both from a sporting point of view, there’s so many guys that pour back into this program, but there’s also just alumni that come here saying, and or businesses in general.

They’ll come here. And try to pluck a wheat in the student graduate out because they know the quality of person that’s gonna be coming outta here. They’re type A generally they’re, uh, fast thinking. They’re quality, but they’re also quality people. So these are all the things that you would maybe not experience on an, on an online or a flyover, but once you’re here, [00:14:00] it, it speaks true.

And you can see it all the time. I mean, we got guys coming outta here and, and government positions, like immediately guys work in business. I mean as just coming out. I mean, literally just some of the guys that just left are in programs, big construction businesses on the inside, um, all over, all over the nation.

So. 

Matt: Awesome. 

Coach: Yeah. 

Matt: Well, I mean, you kind of mentioned it there that, that the academics, uh, is, you know, it’s high quality, high caliber folks, and one of the challenging parts of becoming a student athlete is balancing demands of, of a high academic rigor institution as well as, you know, the demands you’re putting on, on, on the boys.

So how do your players really balance the demands of both the academic side and the athletic side and kind of what support systems there to help ’em in, in that transition? 

Coach: Yeah, I agree. So I, we don’t have a, we, we have academic help, but being the type of institution it is, the expectation is that the [00:15:00] students are gonna do well as it is, which I thought was a little weird.

’cause I had came come from a program that was where scholarship institution and athletic scholarship institutions. So obviously getting people to graduate is primary. So having academic support, but then you end up realizing that. The students that are here feed off of one another. So it’s almost, if you failed here, it’s, it would be two things.

One, maybe somehow you skirted through, you got in here, but you really shouldn’t have been in here. But real, the reality is, is that you tried to fail. ’cause there’s too many people around you thriving for your success. So like within the team, we’ve had a GP, A average GPA between probably three, a high three three and a three six.

Consistently, and these guys are taking hard classes. I mean, I’ve got biomedical engineering students, I’ve got, uh, health sciences students, I’ve got dual economic economics and finance. I mean, it’s like none of, none of the things that people are doing are, are truly easy. [00:16:00] It’s not like just business.

’cause this isn’t an easy business. I mean, they’re, they’re gonna challenge you with what? What you’re gonna be studying, for example. But the, the team, the way they thrive around each other, they just don’t wanna see people suffer. So, um, I think just that in alone, in itself is like good company. It’s like the old bad Apple ruins, the, you know, ruins the batch and, uh, good company the same idea here.

So I think from an academic point of view, it’s a challenging institution. It’s a high academic institution. But again, going back to my prior answer about the quality and integrity of the person that comes in here is that even if you’re struggling, you’re seen, which goes back to even the recruiting part.

So it’s very hard to be in a position where if you were really struggling, people weren’t coming around you to help you for your success. We do have advisors, academic advisors, and people that will come athletically. Uh, we have athletic reps that they will help. So for example, if I really do have a player that’s struggling, I can [00:17:00] send them to people.

No, no question. And they’ll get a lift up as well in terms of, Hey, let’s figure out what we can do to help. So it’s a really strong institution in terms of the, the opportunities for you to do, to do really well, and still come outta here feeling like you’re ready to fly. 

Matt: Alright, awesome. Well, in terms of what a player should expect, let’s rewind it back to October, the heart of that conference schedule.

Walk me through what does a typical week look like in terms of practice, schedule, game cadence, meals, classes, all that kind of stuff. 

Coach: Yeah, good cook. Okay. So with, with, uh, the October window, we get a conference, but for the most part, other than your one-off games, especially early season where people are trying to find you.

Maybe you got some tournaments or showcase type games, whatever. Those would be like a Friday, Saturday or Thursday, Saturday approach. But the bulk of when we get our real rhythm, it’s Wednesday. Saturday matches. We have Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday are our training days. [00:18:00] Our block time would be either 3 45 to five 30 or five 15 to seven.

So we, we split, we have a, we have a football only facility, so not American football. We have our own American football stadium that’s right next to it. Heel, butt to butt. So we have just us and the women’s, the women’s team. So we get to share that time and, uh, we work together the, the staffs so that we’re always maxing out what we can for each other.

We’ll help. Even when we’re wrapping a session, they can get on or they’re wrapping a session and we can get on and we start our activation. And so a really good organization and comradery between the two programs and then, uh, the training, the itself will be able to get, like I said, our practice sessions in Sundays are always off just ’cause we, Eaton doesn’t do anything on Sundays anyway.

But I typically do that my own. I just feel like a Sunday, unless there was a situation at an old institution where they did play on Sundays. But for the most part, I kept the Sunday off. ’cause it’s a great study day. It’s a great recovery day for many things. And then you kind of kick into your week [00:19:00] again.

So class-wise, we try to get the guys to start their day at eight and um, we have chapel three times a week. That, uh, is on those Monday, Wednesday, Fridays, got incredible speakers that come through. Um, we have, uh. We have, um, like Tony Dungy has come and spoke, spoken, and I mean, it’s just a one name. We’ve had, uh, one of the gymnasts that had dealt with the, uh.

The Me Too kind of scenario with the doctor from Michigan State that was inappropriate with USA gymnastics and so on and so forth. She had come through and actually done a series of what she had gone through and where her life is today. We have high level musicians and um, tons of people that have come through Eaton and out.

It’s, it’s a really incredible time that people come in and they bring their value back here. There’s even a grant that they have where. They’ll, they’re sponsored. So they’ll sponsor, say for example, someone coming and doing a series and coming for the full week, and that person will come in. But it’s so that, I mean, [00:20:00] it’s not, it’s not just dead weight checking boxes.

It’s, it’s a really interesting, interesting institution. So, uh, as we move through the practices and through this, the conference schedule. Pretty much the bulk of October is gonna be the conference schedule. We have a new conference team coming in, so we’ll have nine conference games. And then we’ve got the rest of our games.

We probably average about 17. ’cause I, I try to buy in some buy dates just for recovery purposes. And, uh, and then it comes in the conference and national playoffs. 

Matt: Okay. Well, let’s talk about the team, the roster a little bit. Uh, is there a roster size that, that you find is ideal that you’re trying to hit each year?

Coach: We don’t have a roster. You have to here, we don’t do, we don’t do the JV reserve type, so we’re not running 50 people through as well. We have 32 coming, going forward will be a 32 man roster at max just because we have a new, we have new turf coming in in a year’s time, and [00:21:00] we have. We have a, uh, remodel that’s gonna happen in our whole gym, gym building.

So we’re gonna have a whole, um, regraded locker room and, uh, athletic training room. Everything’s basically gonna be growing by about four. Crime is the size of it, which it is now. And it’s always, it is a decent, it’s all kind of a decent thing, but it’s gonna be so, so high in quality. It’s, it’s pretty incredible, um, looking forward to it.

So they’re gonna break ground in May and bust out the far wall of one of the build part of the building and build all summer long. And then, um, then they’ll close that off so that they can then do the, as the weather starts to turn, do the internal and it’ll be ready by, uh, fall of 27. 

Matt: Awesome. 

Coach: Yeah. Well, 

Matt: talk to us about the rest of your roster.

The, the staff. What does everybody do? What, who, who is there working with the team? 

Coach: Full-time? Full-time, uh, assistant coach. So, um, uh. He’s actually, my current is, he’s a former [00:22:00] player. He was an alum here prior to my time. And then, uh, ironically went out, was working at Capital One doing, you know, high rate financial, making good money, kind of wheating what Wheaton students do, got back into the game as a part-time thing.

Ironically, what Catholic U and then, uh, ended up at Gordon College where my, uh, my dad actually started that program, uh, years and years ago. Then, uh, and then he’s made his way back here. So it’s been a really good match. It’s a good fit. I’ve got a couple volunteers that get a little stipend on the side from the, the department and, um, one of them is from California, two of ’em are from California, one’s from Georgia.

Uh, none of us are actually from here. So, uh, we all have, you know, an affinity for our heart for being here. Why we’re here. Our players, like I said. From all over the place. They represent Florida, Washington State, Connecticut, Massachusetts, [00:23:00] um, Texas, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Illinois, Missouri. Um, and I’m missing some states, but, uh, we’ve had the Carolinas, so we’re, we’re literally all over the place, like I said on the earlier question.

And, um, yeah, just incredible budget guys that. They’re the kind of people. I’ve got three younger kids and they’re the kind of people that I, for me, are the type where I, I would love for them to be mentors to my kids because of the, they’re worth looking up to. We’ve done our overseas trip. We were in Brazil three years ago, in a year’s time, may we’ll go overseas again.

And, uh, it’s very, very cool the, the way they handle themselves on the road. There’s, they’re such a class, bunch of group, uh, group of guys. 

Matt: Awesome. 

Coach: Well. 

Matt: What about your style of coaching and the style of play you look to play there? 

Coach: I’m a yeller. No. Um, [00:24:00] no. I, I find that transformational is, is high value for me, so there’s gonna be my transactional moments, but I, I really do spend time thinking.

A, I I need you to get a done so that B can happen on the field. That that’s, I mean, that’s coaching you, you’ve gotta be able to do those things anyways. How can I make you a better player? How can we get you to be, but how can I get you to think differently so that, like I was telling you earlier, how can I get the player to tick so that the, the journey mindset becomes something that lengthens both their short-term goals, their short-term desires.

I want to be, it’s like I don’t have a problem if I have a player that says I wanna be National Player of the year, or. You know, the MVP of the conference or whatever the case may be. Those, those things don’t bother me. Um, don’t, they don’t make me fear, but I, I do more coming alongside. I would say John Wooden would be a good model.

Uh, I think that probably someone like even looking at Dusty May, the way he seems to [00:25:00] operate, I’d say Dusty May from Michigan basketball, uh, if you’re looking at Seattle Sounders, um. I think that, uh, Brian Schmitzer, it’d be a good model. Um, I just think that when it comes to how I operate, I think the player sees that I care.

But I have knowledge. I’ve got a good acumen, I’ve had good experiences. I try to bring those back, tie those in, to draw them in, to then tell them, look, I’m, I can’t pave every bit of the road for you. Types of formation. We’ve played four in the back. We play three in the back. We’ll try to utilize what’s best for the team that makes us the strongest.

We’ve found that playing two, uh, upfront has been more helpful in, in a various, uh, number of, of ways to take down the opponent and break them down. But I would tell you simply if what you’re seeing, the world’s game now, we would be [00:26:00] doing the same thing. Obviously at our level in college that, uh, can we get the words that we, we use in our team a lot is play more football.

Like even on video when we’re doing video breakdown, we’ll be okay. Look at this situation here. This is good. And then the note will come up on the screen, play more football. A kid released it when. If there was a chance to keep the, keep the flow going, we won’t die on our sword. Hey, we have to play outta the back and we have to work it all the way through each third.

It’s gotta go all the way up. I mean, there’s some times it’s, here’s a diagonal, here’s a clip, it, here’s a slip it in behind. But at the same time, let’s not be erratic. Let’s try to figure out the difference between casual and composed. And, uh, we look to, to push our team, like I said, we, we, we work extremely hard.

We have a thing called Ian, which is a Greek word for. It’s from a biblical point of view, which is exhausting yourself. If you were doing all your work for the Lord the same way a, a child would be working their tail off for their, their parent, or you work your tail off for a professor [00:27:00] that you just think is quality, it’s like, I’m gonna give my very best because I know that that person sees me.

But Copan is the same thing that in one Corinthians 1558 is where it talks about working. So you’re just exhausted. You’re never going to find. I mean, there might be a one-off, but I haven’t really seen it since I’ve been at Wheaton that you’re not gonna find us competing. We won’t be dirty. Uh, will we clatter into a guy by mistake or whatever.

But, uh, yes. I mean, sport is sport, but you’re not gonna find that we’re a patterned team that is devious, but we’re also not soft. And I think all those combined is you’re gonna get a good sense of being able to play football when you’re watching our team and, and when you’re working with us. 

Matt: Awesome.

Well, coach, I really appreciate the time and insights and, and digging deeper into Wheaton and wish you the best of luck if you get to any of those events, uh, down here in Bradenton. Make sure you gimme a shout. All right? 

Coach: Got it, Matt. Great. Appreciate it. 

Matt: Thank you. 

Coach: Take it easy.